The Delight Makers a novel of prehistoric Pueblo Indians [Paperback]

Adolph F. Bandelier (Author), Stefan Jovanovich (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 29, 1971

The author, an archaeologist who spent eight years among the Pueblo tribes of New Mexico, provides in fictional form an invaluable reconstruction of prehistoric Indian culture of the Southwest. Introduction by Stefan Jovanovich.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Adolph Francis Alphonse Bandelier (August 6, 1840 - March 18, 1914) was an American archaeologist after whom Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico is named. Bandelier was born in Bern, Switzerland. When a youth he emigrated to the United States. After 1880 he devoted himself to archaeological and ethnological work among the Indians of the southwestern United States, Mexico and South America. Beginning his studies in Sonora (Mexico), Arizona and New Mexico, he made himself the leading authority on the history of this region, and - with F. H. Cushing and his successors - one of the leading authorities on its prehistoric civilization. In 1892 he abandoned this field for Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru, where he continued ethnological, archaeological and historical investigations. In the first field he was in a part of his work connected with the Hemenway Archaeological Expedition and in the second worked for Henry Villard of New York, and for the American Museum of Natural History of the same city. Bandelier had shown the falsity of various historical myths, notably in his conclusions respecting the Inca civilization of Peru.

Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Brace/Harvest (September 29, 1971)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156252643
• ISBN-13: 978-0156252645
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,692,402 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Historical Insight, September 12, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (Denver, Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Delight Makers a novel of prehistoric Pueblo Indians (Paperback)

Bandelier first published this work in 1890, hoping to reach the general public with the facts he had uncovered (literally) about the Indians of the Four Corners area. As a scientist, he was thorough and certainly the authority on the ancient Pueblos. As a writer, he was more an historian than a story teller. Nevertheless, you will gain a lasting and factually accurate impression of "the way it really was" if you can overlook his stereotyped comments and presumptuous views. Considering the Mesa Verde fires of 2000 (which uncovered several hundred new Anasazi sites) this book rekindles interest in the ancient mysteries of the cliff dwellers. It is easy to see Bandelier's Queres Indians as the Anasazi, and derive a relationship between his Koshare (Delight Makers) and the ongoing affection that modern man holds for Kokopelli. As tedious as some of the reading may be, finishing the book will leave you with a feeling of accomplishment; and you may even retain some words from the language of the times.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An American Treasure, May 30, 2008

By 

Jan Dembinski (Woodstock, VT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Delight Makers (Paperback)

I taught a high school senior elective called Literature of the American West and included The Delight Makers. It was the highlight, along with Owen Wister's original Western, The Virginian, of the class. Bandelier reimagines the lives of the cliff-dwellers, based on his first of a kind, primary, on-site research, and tells a story that is captivating, vivid and extraordinary, bringing us into the heart and mind, albeit envisioned by a white European male, of the native American culture. But, I for one, think the spirit in which he envisioned and wrote his tale is of the same spirit which guided and fostered and, eventually, destroyed the cliff-dwellers. If my not-above-average high school seniors delighted in this book -- you will, too. Once you get into the story, any awkwardness to Bandelier's language is washed away in the ongoing stream of an amazing narrative.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but tedious, February 27, 2008

By 

J Martin Jellinek (Memphis, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Delight Makers a novel of prehistoric Pueblo Indians (Paperback)

The Delight Makers is an interesting book from historical, anthropological and sociological perspectives. It looks at prehistoric life in the Native American communities in New Mexico. That part is great. The author, Adolph Bandelier, was a pre-eminent scholar in this field in the late 1800. His knowledge and scholarship shine through in many places.

Unfortunately, Bandelier chose to share his knowledge in the form of a novel. His prose tends to be stilted and there are long passages that get bogged down in sociological details. These are fascinating, but they don't suit the format of a novel. It made reading The Delight Makers rather tedious at times.

Also, the choice of fonts in the paperback edition was a poor choice. Sometimes parts of letters were not visible, punctuation was missing, and similar types of problems. It made me slow down my reading at times just to literally figure out what was supposed to be on the page.